That would be scary if I owned a BV! This bear clearly knows (s)he's supposed to twist something, just not how to get that done. (S)he's close, other BV breakages I've read about have involved the bear squashing the thing so the lid popped off, with BV fixing the problem. This one's going after a main design feature.

It appears to be a female. I see nothing in the video that indicates the bear is systematically attempting to twist the top. I see numerous attempts to pry the lid off with the claws, or less frequently the teeth, which would be normal activity for a bear (just spend a few hours watching a bear dig up grub or rip bark off a tree). You are using your knowledge of how the can works to assume a methodology in the actions of the bear that is not clearly demonstrated in the video.

The only black bear known to open a properly sealed bear vault model 350 or higher (the ones with the double latch and wider groves) is the famous Marcy Lake bear of the Adirondacks (i.e., "yellow-yellow).

QuoteLVRAYThe only black bear known to open a properly sealed bear vault model 350 or higher (the ones with the double latch and wider groves) is the famous Marcy Lake bear of the Adirondacks (i.e., "yellow-yellow).

That bear systematically bit down along the edges of the side of the lid. Those were close to evenly spaced bite marks on a photo of a lid that had been compromised. Essentially what this did was that it would permanently deform/press in the "bump" that prevented the lid from opening. The new model just added a second bump, but essentially both bumps could still be deformed.

I still think the way to prevent a BV from being compromised is to just crank the lid on tight. I know it's a pain in the morning to open, but I don't see a bear generating enough torque to open a tightly closed lid with its teeth. I would venture that most of the lids that were compromised by the Marcy Dam bear were left pretty loose or barely tightened.

Yes, that would be the previously mentioned "yellow-yellow" (so named because of her dual yellow ear markers). That bear, also a female, was able to open both the single and double knotched lids by depressing the tab with her teeth and twisting the lid open.

QuoteYury
AFAIK at least one bear in Adirondacks has figured out how to open BearVault.

QuoteLVRAY
Yes, that would be the previously mentioned "yellow-yellow" (so named because of her dual yellow ear markers). That bear, also a female, was able to open both the single and double knotched lids by depressing the tab with her teeth and twisting the lid open.

QuoteYury
AFAIK at least one bear in Adirondacks has figured out how to open BearVault.

I still think the way to prevent a BV from being compromised is to just crank the lid on tight. I know it's a pain in the morning to open, but I don't see a bear generating enough torque to open a tightly closed lid with its teeth. I would venture that most of the lids that were compromised by the Marcy Dam bear were left pretty loose or barely tightened.

Last year the ranger at Road's End was asking backpackers to put Bear Vaults in bear lockers because a bear out there performs CPR on them to get the lid off. He didn't discriminate between versions of the lid.

I still think the way to prevent a BV from being compromised is to just crank the lid on tight. I know it's a pain in the morning to open, but I don't see a bear generating enough torque to open a tightly closed lid with its teeth. I would venture that most of the lids that were compromised by the Marcy Dam bear were left pretty loose or barely tightened.

Last year the ranger at Road's End was asking backpackers to put Bear Vaults in bear lockers because a bear out there performs CPR on them to get the lid off. He didn't discriminate between versions of the lid.

When I was at Road's End, the kid manning the permit station wanted to show me a BV350 they just got in. He also didn't seem to mind talking, since he generally got few visitors coming by. That was in 2007 though.

I thought the issue was with a few particular bears in the Rae Lakes area. The bump was supposed to prevent the jumping method from working.

I still say if it's on real tight, the only way to remove it would be via human hands. Of course cranking it on tight makes it harder to remove. One suggestion I've heard was for BearVault to perhaps redesign their product with a screw or set of screws.